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Liberals to propose jury selection changes after meeting with Colten Boushie’s family

OTTAWA—The Liberal government will propose Criminal Code changes next month to reform jury selection rules, bail processes and other justice measures that it says have long led to unfair treatment of Indigenous people in Canada’s legal system.

It comes on the heels of the controversial acquittal of a Saskatchewan farmer in the death of Colten Boushie, a 22-year-old Indigenous man fatally shot in 2016 — a case that the NDP leader Jagmeet Singh on Tuesday branded “an injustice” and a failure of the “court process (because it) didn’t result in justice for that life that was taken.”

Justin Trudeau says the government wants to ensure no family goes through what Colten Boushie’s family did. The prime minister and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould met Tuesday with relatives of the slain Indigenous man. (The Canadian Press)

The trial of Gerald Stanley — from start to finish — has become a rallying cry for justice by Boushie’s family, and now a catalyst for change in the eyes of the Trudeau government.

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould told reporters reforms are coming “very soon” and would “recognize that the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system, whether it be victims of crime or in jails, needs to be addressed.”

An official said a substantive reform package could come in a bill to be tabled in late winter or early spring, with an eye on the week of March 19.

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Wilson-Raybould signalled changes to jury selection rules, including the elimination of what are called “peremptory challenges,” which allow prosecutors and defence lawyers to object to a certain number of potential jurors — depending on the type of crime — without specifying any reason.

But she also acknowledged that the job of enlarging jury pools to include meaningful participation by Indigenous citizens lies largely with provinces, who are responsible for the administration of justice.

“We can make changes to the Criminal Code to eliminate peremptory challenges but we have to work with the provinces and territories to ensure there are Indigenous peoples that are in the jury pool, (to look at) how they notify those individuals, (and at) why Indigenous communities feel disenfranchised or marginalized away from the system.” Part of the problem in empanelling juries in far-flung northern and rural communities is money, she said.

Wilson-Raybould said “myriad” other improvements could be made, including restorative justice and rehabilitation measures, ways to address trial delays, and new sentencing measures such as expanded drug treatment courts.

Federal-provincial co-operation is needed to deal with “administration of justice offences,” those court- and jail-clogging charges — like failure to appear, probation breaches, or failures to pay fines — that end up creating a revolving door for many marginalized groups, whether those suffering from addictions or mental health issues, low-income offenders, or Indigenous people caught up in the justice system.

Debbie Baptiste holds up a photo of her son Colten Boushie as the family spoke to reporters after a day of meetings on Parliament Hill. Trudeau emerged Tuesday from a private meeting with the family to say he was “touched” by their willingness to work with the federal government on “improvements." (Justin Tang / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

An official said the bill is likely to reflect long-standing discussions among federal, provincial and territorial justice ministers about changes to bail procedures, case management processes, and other causes of trial delays that led the Supreme Court of Canada to put hard caps on trial times in its 2016 Jordan decision.

But it was not squarely on the agenda until this month’s sensational trial conclusion in Saskatchewan.

A reportedly all-white jury cleared Stanley of any criminal responsibility in the Boushie shooting. None of the jurors was Indigenous according to observers, including family members who sat through jury selection.

Strict rules around the privacy of jurors’ deliberations make it impossible to know what exactly led them to acquit Stanley of murder and to reject a lesser offence of manslaughter.

Jury selection rules are intended to give both sides some control over potentially biased jurors hearing a case and ought to protect Indigenous accused persons as well, Wilson-Raybould agreed.

“Individuals have a right to be tried by a jury of their peers. We need to ensure that we’re working with our counterparts in the provinces and territories to address the ability for individuals to feel and have a fair trial no matter what background they come from.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau emerged Tuesday from a private meeting with members of the Boushie family to say he was “touched” by their willingness to work with the federal government on “improvements to our system to make sure that no family has to go through the kinds of things they went through.”

Relatives of Colten Boushie spoke after meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the handling of the Indigenous man’s killing. Cousin Jade Tootoosis said ministers who have sympathized with the family showed they were “human beings.” (The Canadian Press)

Wilson-Raybould denied the government is responding in a knee-jerk fashion or that its actions would affect consideration of any possible appeal by Saskatchewan’s attorney general, which has 30 days to review the acquittal.

She said the Liberal government has been working on broad-based reforms to “deconstruct the colonial legacy” in the justice system since it was elected, saying “This is not a response to a particular case.”

Wilson-Raybould defended her and the cabinet’s sympathetic reactions (the prime minister along with ministers have tweeted consoling words, and “love” to the family), saying their comments “have elevated this discussion to a place where it needs to be.”

She said it would be “deeply concerning” if a justice minister did not respond, adding she welcomed the “reality” of the Boushie family coming to Ottawa and fact that “the national consciousness has been raised” with “Canadians, across the country calling for change.”

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said he has raised concerns about RCMP staffing in the region with his provincial counterpart in Saskatchewan.

The victim’s family has made a formal complaint to the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP about discriminatory treatment on the part of Mounties the night Colten was shot.

After meeting Trudeau, Boushie’s family watched debate in the Commons from a public gallery as the NDP pressed the government for specifics on its plan.

“I’m not going to lie to you, we are tired, we have heavy hearts,” Boushie’s cousin Jade Tootoosis said later. “We stand here with strength . . . and the hope that there can be a difference, that no other family has to go through what we went through because this happens all too often. There needs to be change . . . that’s what justice for Colten is about.”

They said they appreciated the compassion shown by Trudeau and his ministers. “They’re reaching out as human beings.”

Eleanore Sunchild, a friend and lawyer who supported the Boushie family, said there was no talk of an appeal in the meetings.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh went much further than Trudeau or his ministers did. He commented directly on the Boushie killing and trial that led to Stanley’s acquittal, saying they represent an “injustice.”

He said the court case failed to address “the systemic racism” or “the fact that it seems so painful and unacceptable that a young man could be killed in that manner . . . that there’s an element of an Indigenous life being treated as disposable.”

“The result of this case has continued to perpetuate this feeling that Inigenous lives don’t have value and that’s an injustice.”

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